Civic representatives ring the bell for New Year's celebration in Seoul, Dec. 31, 2022. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

This year's bell-tolling ceremony on New Year's Eve will feature the installation of a 12-meter-radius "Midnight Sun," along with a street music performance and a parade, city officials said Tuesday.

The popular midnight bell-ringing celebration at Bosingak Pavilion in central Seoul on Dec. 31 has been held every year since 1953 to ring in the new year, though public attendance was prohibited during the 2019-2021 COVID-19 pandemic period.

This year's event will start off with a street music performance by S.O.S, a traditional Korean music band, at 11 p.m. on Sunday at Bosingak Pavilion, along with a parade featuring traditional Korean plays along a 400-meter section of the street running from Bosingak, according to the city officials.

The bell-ringing ceremony at midnight will be immediately followed by the rise of the "Midnight Sun," a 12-meter-radius artifact symbolizing the new year, on the nearby Sejong-daero, a boulevard in central Seoul.

A subsequent K-pop concert on a stage, to be set up on Sejong-daero, will celebrate the start of the new year with performances by popular K-pop bands, including Enhypen, The Boyz and Oh My Girl.

The event will be livestreamed on the city's YouTube channel.

The city will also deploy some 1,100 safety and traffic guards on the night of the event to ensure public safety, the officials also said. (Yonhap)